OU Student Art Show

Winning piece reflects mid-20th century hope for America

Student artwork, such as this work by Christopher Fleming, gets the spotlight at the 99th Annual School of Art & Art History Student Exhibition, which opened Jan. 18, at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. Photo provided

Receiving the other $500 Potts Sculpture Award was Norman junior Rani Cozad for “Home Sweet Hive,” a work which combines both geometric and organic elements. Bulging out from the wall like a bizarre beehive, made out of multiple, shield-like shapes, coated with a wax or honey-like substance, Cozad said her creation tries to “explore the uncharted realm between organization and chaos.”

Additional memorable works were contributed by Matthew Kaney, who won one of two $250 Norman Arts Council Awards, and by Jessica Wilson, who won one of two $400 FJJMA Docent Awards. Kaney’s literally “Self-Burning Book” offers us a wry commentary on the “relationship between technology and information,” and the risk of having “data stored on remote servers isolated from our immediate control.” Basing her work on an automobile company’s advertising slogan, Wilson creates a “hanging steel sculpture” that “resembles a waving…flag comprised of Chevrolet emblems,” car names and old family photographs.

Guest judged by Tony Tiger, art director at Bacone College in Muskogee, the ninety-ninth annual OU School of Art and Art History Exhibition is recommended viewing during its run through Feb. 10. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays; and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Admission is free due to a gift from the OU Athletics Department. Call 325-3272 or visit the website at www.ou.edu/fjjma for information.